Planted tank with large fish

[ettfettbranamn]

True all of it..

Haha, ofcourse i recognise you.. i've been keeping an eye on the forum but havent posted very actively pretty much the last couple of years but i still keep track of people..

My experience with both polys (especially top jaw sp) and gars is they love to "jam" themselves into the plants to rest for the night/sneak/hunt..

I've tried a couple of different tanks and the most successful one is probably this one.. what i've learned is to predrill the driftwood and use stripes to pin them to it.. trying to plant anything on the ground will only result in a stroke from pure anger when the fish reaches a certain size.. one itchy gill can kill 2 hours of careful planting..

Not trying to imply that i'm any sort of authority on this but most people quit trying after a while..

Buy big plants (auctions are a great place for that)
Buy low light plants (the cost of light will kill you in a tank that big)
Dont aim for a specific kind of plant but rather buy freaking bags of them and stick to what works in your tank.
Give it time, most plants (imho) tend to get worse before they settle in.
Plant your driftwood, not the tank itself. Also make sure to drill and stripe the plants, dont just tie it.

 

[David Foster]

Not a big tank, but it's got a cichlid in it.

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What kind of cichlid is that?! That thing is awesome!! Awesome tank setup as well

 

[Experiment397]

ill try and get one up of my 125. fully planted with injected co2 and a liquid fert regiment

 

[Drstrangelove]

I've tried a couple of different tanks and the most successful one is probably this one.. what i've learned is to predrill the driftwood and use stripes to pin them to it.

Sorry. I want to have plants and was literally inhaling all your advice when I this caught my eye. What do you mean by "stripes?"

 

[J. H.]

What kind of cichlid is that?! That thing is awesome!! Awesome tank setup as well

Green Terror.

 

[Experiment397]

Recently re scaped the tank in favor of more wood work, And red sand space at the front for polys to lay in but it should be back to the wild jungle look fairly quickly. Upgraded the lights to leds recently too and traded out the bacopa for vals

 

[Gourami Swami]

Had a lot of plants in my pike tank, had to remove them because the silver dollars mowed them down. But the pikes did not care about the plants at all.

 

[ettfettbranamn]

Sorry. I want to have plants and was literally inhaling all your advice when I this caught my eye. What do you mean by "stripes?"

Sorry.. must be a term in my native tounge.. did some research and found out i meant straps.. the plastic thingies..

 

[tiger15]

Does anyone have a planted tank with large fish such as cichlids/catfish etc? Would love to see some pics as i'm getting fed up of the bare tank look..

Yes, I am doing the same thing you are thinking of doing. Many cichlid tanks have non existence or ugly scapes, and I am tired of my own rock scapes and want to see some lush green. So I set a planted 75g about 6 months ago selecting tough plants to withstand my robust cihlids.

First, I chose only tough texture epiphytes including Java fern, bolbida, anubias and Bucephalandra which I superglued to rock. I tried potted stem plants and they are too delicate to withstand abuses from cichlid.

Second, I learned that fish wastes alone do not provide balanced diet for plants. Fish wastes are rich in nitrogen and phosphate, but deficient in potassium, iron and micro nutrients and other minerals, so I have to dose them.

Third, I have to fight algae, specially BBA, which thrives in high light and waste load tank. I have been successful in controlling BBA using Excel and peroxide, but I took a leap to pressurized CO2 which appears to be a panacea for algae and slow growth.

Forth, I have to change my mind set to keep plants and fish together. I never adjust my water chemistry keeping fish only, just select fish that fit my water and do regular WC. Keeping plant requires mandatory manipulation of water chemistry by dosing, and balancing light and CO2 or else they will melt away. I lost half the plants I started out and am still learning how to achieve the right balance.

 

[Drstrangelove]

Sorry.. must be a term in my native tounge.. did some research and found out i meant straps.. the plastic thingies..

Great! Thanks for sharing as I really admire your success and plan to copy that method.